If you’re searching for a community with easy access to the Motor City, look no further than Livonia, Michigan. A quick jaunt northwest of downtown Detroit, Livonia epitomizes the word “suburb”. It was originally settled by pioneers from New England, and saw a growth in population through the 50s and 60s, as citizens from Detroit migrated outwards.

Being mostly residential neighborhoods and home-owners, Livonia isn’t much of a renter’s haven. Only about 11% of the population rents homes or apartments here, but that doesn’t mean finding a place is impossible.

Apartment complexes, especially the larger variety, are pretty easy to find. Expect to see most of your apartment options in small, usually two or three floor, buildings. Some of these will be multi-building communities with small community amenities, like covered parking and laundry facilities. There are also newer and nicer condo-quality units, too. If a house is what you’re looking for, there are plenty of different types and sizes available in nice neighborhoods. Average rental prices range from the upper 100s to the mid 1000s per month, depending on the size and quality you choose.

Some factors may affect location slightly, but on the whole, don’t expect the neighborhoods to be too distinct. Here are a few things to remember as you explore your housing options:

Cardinal Directions: The I-96 freeway cuts through the southern half of the city, and the portion immediately south of the freeway is a little sparse for living. This area has some industrial sections and shopping centers. The largest neighborhoods you’re going to find will be on the northwest side, where streets spread out, and wind around all willy-nilly. For the most part, though, there’s very little directional pattern to the city’s neighborhoods.

Livonia may not have many ground-breaking national claims to fame, but is considered by locals to be one of the most “liveable” cities of metro-Detroit, and a great place to call home. The community has easy access to nearby cities for commuting or entertainment. It has many areas for recreation and shopping.

Getting Around: Like all of Metro Detroit, Livonia is a car-based city (gotta show that Motor City pride!) Livonia has no public transit system, but it runs shuttle buses that pick up and drop off commuters from SMART and D-DOT bus lines in nearby cities.

We’ve seen Livonia described by locals as being very “wonder bread”, which is great for some, but can be a bit of a disappointment for others. Maybe you prefer wheat bread, challah or pita, or maybe even a nice pumpernickel loaf. We can never be quite sure until we take a bite though, so we’ll leave you to do your own taste test of Livonia’s lifestyle and see for yourself.

December 2018 Livonia Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Livonia Rent Report. Livonia rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Livonia rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

December 2018 Livonia Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Livonia Rent Report. Livonia rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Livonia rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

Livonia rents increased over the past month

Livonia rents have increased 0.1% over the past month, and have increased moderately by 3.1% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Livonia stand at $940 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,220 for a two-bedroom. Livonia's year-over-year rent growth leads the state average of 1.0%, as well as the national average of 1.3%.

Rents rising across the Detroit Metro

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Livonia, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Detroit metro, all of them have seen prices rise. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.

Dearborn has the most expensive rents in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,330; the city has also seen rent growth of 3.2% over the past year, the fastest in the metro.

Taylor has the least expensive rents in the Detroit metro, with a two-bedroom median of $890; rents were up 0.6% over the past month but remained flat year-over-year.

Livonia rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

As rents have increased moderately in Livonia, large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more modestly, or in some cases, even decline. Livonia is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Rents increased marginally in other cities across the state, with Michigan as a whole logging rent growth of 1.0% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 1.2% in Lansing and 1.0% in Grand Rapids.

Livonia's median two-bedroom rent of $1,220 is slightly above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.3% over the past year compared to the 3.1% increase in Livonia.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Livonia than most large cities. For example, Chicago has a median 2BR rent of $1,270.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Detroit

$690

$890

0.2%

1.1%

Warren

$780

$1,020

0.8%

3.0%

Sterling Heights

$830

$1,080

0.5%

2.1%

Dearborn

$1,020

$1,330

0.5%

3.2%

Livonia

$940

$1,220

0.1%

3.1%

Westland

$740

$970

0.3%

1.6%

Troy

$1,020

$1,330

0.1%

1.7%

Southfield

$900

$1,180

0.3%

1.8%

Taylor

$680

$890

0.6%

0.0%

Pontiac

$730

$940

-0.1%

1.1%

Royal Oak

$830

$1,080

0.2%

0.6%

Southgate

$780

$1,020

0.7%

1.5%

Oak Park

$970

$1,260

0.1%

0.2%

Auburn Hills

$920

$1,200

-0.4%

-1.0%

Rochester

$990

$1,290

-0.6%

-1.6%

Howell

$910

$1,190

0.7%

4.5%

Northville

$1,210

$1,510

4.6%

Belleville

$850

$1,080

0.2%

2.7%

Clinton

$720

$870

-0.4%

0.7%

See more

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.